My First Million
The Decision Register, Newsletter Woes and An Audience of One
Fri Jul 21 2023Description
This episode discusses the importance of creating a decision register to improve judgment and decision making. It explores the process of documenting decisions, involving others in decision-making, and the challenges of starting a newsletter business. The episode also emphasizes the need for long-term durability and a short-term view for success, as well as the value of podcasts driven by genuine interest. Additionally, it highlights the importance of creating content based on personal interest while considering feedback and maintaining a balance between self-satisfaction and audience engagement.
Insights
Creating a Decision Register
Creating a decision register can significantly improve judgment and decision making. It involves documenting major decisions, reasons, outcomes, and lessons learned. Asking specific questions during decision-making and revisiting the register allows for learning from past decisions.
Involving Others in Decision-Making
Involving others, such as a spouse, in decision-making can provide a balanced perspective and help make rational decisions. However, explaining certain contexts, like stock or startup investments, to someone unfamiliar with those areas can be challenging.
Starting a Newsletter Business
Starting a newsletter business may be easy initially, but turning it into a valuable business at scale is challenging. Caution is advised against focusing solely on subscriber counts without considering long-term sustainability.
Success Requires Durability and Long-Term Vision
Success requires long-term durability and a short-term view. Copying surface-level strategies may not lead to long-term success. Engaging content that drives action is crucial, while AI newsletters may lose interest over time.
Podcasts and Genuine Interest
Podcasts should be driven by genuine interest rather than ratings or reviews. The number of subscribers is not the sole measure of success. Hosting podcasts based on personal interest and focusing on topics of genuine interest can stand out.
Creating Content Based on Personal Interest
Creating content based on personal interest allows for freedom and authenticity. Balancing self-satisfaction with audience engagement is important. Tough decisions should be made by considering personal interest and whether it aligns with what is considered good.
Chapters
- Creating a Decision Register
- Documenting Decisions and Learning
- Success Requires Durability and Long-Term Vision
- Podcasts and Genuine Interest
- Creating Content Based on Personal Interest
Creating a Decision Register
00:00 - 06:06
- Creating a decision register can improve judgment and decision making.
- The decision register includes major decisions, reasons for the decisions, outcomes, and lessons learned.
- Examples of decisions include quitting pre-med and selling to Twitch instead of Facebook.
- Some decisions that seemed small at the time turned out to be important.
- Not buying Ethereum and Bitcoin was a bad decision due to overlooking their potential.
- The decision register is a Google doc that requires minimal effort but can significantly improve judgment.
- Asking specific questions when making a decision helps clarify reasoning and predict outcomes.
- Revisiting the decision register allows for learning from past decisions.
Documenting Decisions and Learning
05:45 - 11:55
- The speaker reflects on the importance of documenting decisions and learning from them.
- They have documented their decisions around selling socks, making financial investments, and renting a house.
- They admit that they should consult their wife for her perspective but sometimes struggle with feeling like they're asking for permission.
- When selling a company, they involve their wife in the decision-making process and find her opinion helpful.
- However, when it comes to stock or startup investments, it's harder to explain the context to their wife who is not familiar with these areas.
- The speaker describes their wife as someone who can provide a balanced perspective and help them make rational decisions.
- They discuss the idea of creating a decision register template and sharing it with others through YouTube or show notes.
- The conversation shifts to discussing the growth of a newsletter business called Small Boy, which has gained around 100,000 subscribers in a short period of time through organic and paid marketing efforts.
- The speaker jokes about taking credit for the success of newsletters and mentions how they started The Milk Road based on observing Sam's success with The Hustle combined with crypto news.
- They highlight that starting a newsletter is easy zero to one but turning it into a valuable business at scale is challenging.
- The speaker advises caution to those starting newsletter businesses and warns against falling in love with subscriber counts without considering long-term sustainability.
Success Requires Durability and Long-Term Vision
11:27 - 17:20
- Driving off a cliff is not the answer to making something successful.
- Success requires long-term durability and a short-term view.
- Morning Brew has done a great job with durability and long-term vision.
- Most people try to copy what they see on the surface level, but that may not lead to long-term success.
- Not everyone is an above-average entrepreneur, but many think they are.
- Morning Brew's revenue of $70-90 million requires a large team and evergreen content.
- AI newsletters will lose interest over time and advertisers will realize the audience is not valuable.
- Creating engaging content that gets people to take action is challenging.
- Milk Road worked because it was personal and focused on the most interesting topics.
Podcasts and Genuine Interest
17:00 - 23:10
- Hiring a journalist or aggregator to summarize headlines is different from creating a podcast with a loyal audience.
- The number of subscribers is not the right metric to measure success.
- Steph Smith, host of the A16Z podcast, is skilled at predicting business trends.
- Joe Rogan's podcast stands out because he does it his own way and focuses on topics he's genuinely interested in.
- Podcasts are professionally unprofessional and should be driven by genuine interest rather than ratings or reviews.
Creating Content Based on Personal Interest
22:44 - 25:46
- They're free. They just do what they want and they are the judge.
- Steph Curry and Luca Donchich play basketball freely without overthinking it.
- Dave Chappelle enjoys performing in his own way, which has gained him a huge fan base.
- The strategy of content creation should be focused on creating what you like rather than catering to the audience's changing preferences.
- While feedback is appreciated, the ultimate decision-maker should be your own interest and liking.
- There should be a balance between making yourself feel good and making others feel good through your content.
- In tough situations, the final call should be made by considering if you think it's good and if you're interested in it.